


#kaplanlosing

by ballpoint



Category: Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, children of the last crusade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-23
Updated: 2011-06-23
Packaged: 2017-10-20 16:05:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballpoint/pseuds/ballpoint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billy is gunning to be Magneto's favourite grandson, but he keeps getting thrown off track</p>
            </blockquote>





	#kaplanlosing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [valtyr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/valtyr/gifts).



> Characters property of Marvel. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this work.

Billy knew what his mother would say - the one back in New York, Upper East Side- not his biological mother, because that's why they are here and-

Okay, let's take two.

Dr. Rebecca Kaplan would deem this course of action unnecessary, even lowering.

As detailed in her second published work, Anatomy of Egos: _Start as you mean to go on, the exploration of person-hood within relationships should be a celebration, not a competition._

They were here in Wundagore, still. For those keeping score, Tommy 1 for impressing Magneto with his New Jersey bravado, Billy - well, the outfits from Sound of Music he'd give himself a point five. Either way, as of this moment, he'd be a trending topic in twitter: #kaplanlosing.

Early morning, Teddy asleep, and Billy slipped out of bed, leaving warmth and comfort behind.

The house they were staying in reminded him of the fairy tales he'd read to his siblings when he got stuck on bed time duty. Gingerbread house, a perfect little world of twisted, dark stair cases, creaking boards, and a stout wooden table for the kitchen. Outside, the air so crisp and cold, it felt as if he were breathing in shards of ice, only for them to dissolve in his bloodstream, a bloom of chills before they warmed and melted into his blood.

If he were alone, he'd do a Julie Andrews, throw his hands up and out, and... _hum_ , but he didn't, because floating in the distance, his cape snapped and tugged by the wind, stood Magneto, his back towards Billy. Shoulders a straight line, a sentinel on the mountain top. Billy looked at the shirt he hurriedly tugged on, about a couple sizes too big, and his pj bottoms already wet in the dew. Sighing, Billy raised his staff, and on a mutter of breath, he became Wiccan, with the ragged edges of his cape fluttering in the wind.

"Your noise will be your undoing."

"I- yeah, I know that, Mr Magneto sir. I'm working on it."

"You're up early," Magneto turned around, and Billy had to lift his neck, and held his hand over his eyes like a visor to stop the morning sun from searing his retinas.

"I'd say the same for you. Like, you don't sleep, you wait."

Magneto's features impassive, and too late, Billy realised that his joke went over like a lead balloon. _Thumpity thump. Thump_

.

"Have my movements disturbed your slumber, William?"

"Uh, no. No, I just meant - you know, you can be - and wow, you'd think that English wasn't my first language. You can be pretty intimidating."

"And your power signature is a wonder, considering you transported all of us here by just a gesture, not caring about what the Avengers thought. Impressive."

Like, favourite grandson impressive? Billy wanted to ask, but didn't. He willed himself to levitate to Magneto's level, just to save his neck from the strain. As soon as he got a couple metres of Magneto, the blood in his body took over from magic, drawn, and suspended, as if slotted into orbit, and idly wondered if this was due to Magneto's electro magnetic fields.

"Yeah, well, I need to know, I mean, we need to know about Wanda and her connection to us."

"Patriot, is he still clinging to his viewpoint? "

"Well, that's what Eli does. He clings. He - " Billy paused, because okay, Magneto might be his grandfather, but he didn't really seem like that sort of grandfather to dispense advice with milk and butterscotch cookies.

"He?"

"When Eli makes a choice, he sticks to it. He isn't happy that we're here, but he can't leave."

"Oh?"

Nice, Billy, throw your friend under the bus for a shot at favourite grandson? Tommy 1: Billy -5.

But Billy couldn't seem to stop taking.

"We're a team."

"Even though he seems to chafe at Hawkeye's directive."

Okay, Billy had to admit, he was impressed. Like, Magneto might not be Dr Rebecca Kaplan with an alphabet soup of letters behind his name, but he read group dynamics with unerring ease. Whereas Pietro dismissed it as bickering, in his heart of hearts, he knew that the schism in their group was shifting, getting bigger.

"They do argue," he admitted. "It's their thing." Weak sauce, Kaplan. "But we're a team, we'll stick. That's what we do."

"Even Thomas?"

"Even Tommy," Billy smiled, because that was safer ground, competitor or not. "He's abrupt, cynical and you can never know with him, but his heart's in the right place. Mostly."

"I wish I could say the same for my son," Magneto looked into the distance, the mountains lush and verdant. "No matter whatever we feel towards each other, we both love Wanda. Have you ever met her, William?"

"Once, but uh... briefly."

"You remind me of her." his eyes found Billy's and pinned him with their ice blue glare.

"My power signature? I must admit, it isn't the same. The Scarlet Witch can make things happen with a hex. I'm still- learning,and even then, it's more along the lines of substituting reality instead of... and that is _so_ not what you meant."

Magneto smiled, just a curve of lip, as if he could only entertain faint amusement. "No. You try to calm stormy waters, it's in your nature. Despite the fact that yourself will not be swayed, that you've thrown your lot in with mine, you're still trying to hold your team together."

"It feels," Billy worried his lower lip with his teeth. "It feels as all the clues and secret maps, and one up coins and quests have lead to this. I can't turn back, I won't."

"And Teddy? Does he share your concern?"

"He knows it's important to me, and that's enough." Billy's voice had a bit of steel to it. Everything else, and everyone else, okay, but if Magneto had something to say about Teddy, well- their paths would separate right here, right now.

"That's a gift." Magneto said, as he lowered himself to the grass, breaking the orbit, only for Billy to almost fall, and he righted his balance and flew down, cloak settling on and around his shoulders.

Billy followed Magneto into the kitchen, not surprised to see the rest of the team seated at the table in stages of waking, Tommy making himself useful and whizzing around, dispensing coffee, bread, cheese and sausage from the pantry.

"So," Kate said, looking bright eyed and alert, not a hair out of place. "What's the plan for today, Magneto?"

"Hawkeye, please." Magneto replied, his voice as formal as hers. "Breakfast, first."

As Magneto sat down, and helped himself, helmet off and on the table, Billy wondered, what the heck happened out there? Oh right, he was still in negative equity, while Magneto smiled at Tommy as he served Magneto breakfast on a plate and a heavy mug of coffee.

The game was still on, but- Billy looked up and outside, seeing Quicksilver standing outside the cottage, looking out towards the mountains like they did earlier. Huh, the Lehnsherr/Maximoff side of the family tree could _brood_. Not for long though, Billy thought to himself, because he knew, they were on the verge of finding Wanda. Soon.

 

Fin


End file.
